Seed-planter and fertilizer-distributer.



P ATENTED AUG. 18, 1903;

' J. A. MoGUTGHEN.

SEED PLANTBR AND FERTILIZER DISTRIBUTER.

AI'PLlOATION FILED JUNE 2. 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

10 MODEL.

PATENTBD AUG. 18., 19035.-

No. 736,425. I. A} MOGUTCHEN.

SEED PLANTERAND FERTILIZER DISTRIBUTER. APPLIOA'IION FILED mm: 2, 1903.

KOMODEL. 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 gulps c UNITED STATES Fatented August 18, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

SEED-PLANTER AND FERTILIZER-DISTRIBUTER.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 736,425, dated August18, 1903.

Application filed June 2, 1903. Serial No. 159,754. (No model.)

T all whom, it may concern:

Be it known thatl, JOHN A. MOCUTCHEN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Heriot, in the county of Sumterand State of South Carolina,have invented a new and useful Seed-Planter and Fertilizer-Distrihuter,ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to seed-planters and fertilizer-distributers ofthat class in which a hopper mounted in a suitable frame is providedwith an oscillating shaft having fingers for the purpose of agitatingthe contents of cation.

the hopper, which is permitted to escape through a spout in the lowerpart of the hopper, oscillatory motion being imparted to the shaft froma rotary element of the machine.

My present invention has for its object to provide an attachment formachines of this class whereby the discharge from the spout may he gagedor regulated and whereby the discharge instead of being continuousshallbe made intermittent. A i

A further object of myinvention is to provide an attachment of thisclass which may be appended to almost any planter orfertilizer-distributer of the class referred to without necessitatingchange of the general construction of the same.

Afurther object of my invention is to provide an attachment of the kindmentioned which shall be simple in construction and efficient inoperation and which may be readily interchangeable from one machine toanother.

With these and other objects in view my invention consists intheimproved construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, whichwill be hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in theclaims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of aplanter equipped with my improved attachment. Fig. 2 is a perspectiveView of the device constituting my inventiondetached fromthe planter.Fig. 3 is a perspective detail view of the hopperspout usedin-connection withmy invention. Fig. 4 is a perspective detail view ofthe scraper used in connection with the coveringroller. Fig. 5 is adetail perspective of a shield used' in connection with the furrow- Fig.6 is a detail view of a modifi- Fig. 7 is a sectional elevationshowopener.

.spout 8. is provided with a crank 10, connected by a carrying acovering-roller 5, and a'shaft 6,

journaled transversely in the hopper, is pro- .Vided with a plurality ofradiating fingers 7 for the purpose of agitating the contents of thehopper to cause it to escape throughthe The shaft 9 of thecovering-roller pitman 11 with a crank 12 upon a projecting end of theshaft 6 in the hopper, thereby transmitting an oscillatory motion tosaid shaft. A gage-slide 13 may be provided in the bottom of the hopper,and a lever 14 may be provided for the adjustment of said slide. (Thisstructure constitutes an ordinary seed-dropper or fortilizer-distributerof a type or pattern which is now largely used; but it has been hereinshown simply as an example of a device to which my improved attachmentmay be connected for operation, it being understood that I reserve theright of applying my innprovement to any of the numerous planters orfertilizer-distributers which are now in the market and which will admitof the application thereto and of the use in connection therewith of mysaid improvement.) The lat ter comprises a bracket 15, having alongitudinal slot 16, whereby it may be connected, by means of one ormore bolts, with one of the ends of the hopper. In the exampleillustrated in Fig. 1 this bracket is attached to the rear side of thehopper in order that a lever 17, pivotally mounted in the lowerbifurcated end of said bracket, may be extended in the path of therevoluble element of the device, which inthis' instance consists of: thecoveringroller. In the event, however, of

my improvement being attached to a planter it that the lever or an armconnected therewith may be extended in the path of some rotary element,such as will be presently hereinafter described. l

The lower end of the spout 8 of the hopper is cut off obliquely, so thatone end of the le ver 17 may be extended underneath said hopper andnormally form a closure for the same and also to permit the seeds todropout more rear of the hopper, as the case may be.

readily. The lever is thereby caused to occupy an inclined position, andits outer upwardly-inclined end will be caused to lie in the path of therotary element in front or in In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1, theupper end of said lever is shown as extended in the path of thecovering-roller 5, which has been shown as provided with a plurality oftappets 18, which when the roller revolves will successively engage theupper end of the lever, thereby causing its lower end, which forms theclosure 19, to be removed or depressed downwardly from the spout,thereby enabling a portion of the contents of the. latter to escape. Theupper end of the lever may be sufficiently heavy to overbalance thelower part which forms'the closure, so that when the tappets pass out ofengagement with the lever the lower end of the spout will beautomatically closed by the weight thereof. Instead, however, ofaltogether relying upon the weight of the upper end of the lever toeffect the closure of the discharge end of the spout at the proper timeI prefer to avail myself of a U-shaped spring, as 20, which is insertedbetween the bracket and the upper end of the lever, the ends of saidspring being sprung into sockets 21, prepared for its reception in thesaid bracket and lever, said sockets being simply in the form ofinclined mortises. By this spring the closure of the lower or dischargeend of the spout will be effected at the proper time very quickly andwith a snap which will serve to agitate the contents of the spout and tosome extent that of the seedbox, whereby the seed or fertilizingmaterial that is to be dropped will drop down upon the lower end of thelever which forms the closure 19, so that at the next operation of thelever a sufficient quantity to form a charge will be in position toescape from the spout.

In orderto enable the lever 17 to be successfully operated, I prefer toform at the upper or rear end thereof a slot 22, in which is seated aroller.23 to be actuated by the tappets 18. The latter consist simply ofpegs driven into the covering-roller 5 radially to the latter andprovided with beveled outer edges 24, which will readily engage theroller 23, and thus impart to the operating-lever the quick snappymotion desired therefor.

It will be observed that during the operation of the device the loweredge of the spout 8 of the hopper will be exposed to a rapid successionof blows by the lever 17, which forms the closure for, the lower end ofsaid spout. The latter is usually manufactured of sheet metal and unlessin some way protected would soon wear out. In order to avoid this, Iprovide the lower edge of the hopper with an outt-urned flange 25, whichwill receive the blows of. the lever and which will protect thedischarge. end of the spout from injury, thereby greatly increasing thelife of the invention.

Machines of the class herein described are usually provided withscrapers for the covering-rollers, such as indicated at 26, whichrepresents the scrapers suitably mounted upon springs 27, so as to bearagainst'the surface of the covering-roller and free the latter fromadhering dirt. In order to provide for the passage of the tappets 18,this scraper is provided with a centrally-disposed notch 28, throughwhich the tappets may pass with out interference.

In order to prevent the seeds or fertilizing material discharged fromthe hopper from becoming deposited upon the shoe of the furrow-opener, Iprefer to provide the latter with a shield, (designated 29, which willde-.

flect any material dropped thereon into the furrow, as will be readilyunderstood.

In Fig. 6 of the drawings I have illustrated a modification in theconstruction of the lever 17, whereby the engagement therewith of thetappets 18 shall cause it to be retained in an open position for acertain predetermined period, thereby causing the period of dropping tobe regulated, and consequently forming a hill or stand of any desiredlength or extent. By this modification I simply omit the roller 23 atthe outer end of said lever 17 and form its outer or-upper end with acurvature 30, which will be engaged by the tappets 18, as will bereadily understood. In the under side of the lever I form a recess 31,which may be of any desired length and which terminates at its upperedgein ashoulder 32. It is obvious that the distance between theshoulder 32 and the curved end will determine the length of time duringwhich the lever will be held in an open position by engagement therewithof the tappets. Consequently by increasing the length of the recess 31the distance between said shoulder and the curved end of the lever willbe decreased and the period of dropping will be correspondinglyincreased. Conversely, by decreasing the length of the recess 31 theperiod of dropping will be lengthened. These levers being usuallyconstructed of wood are easily and cheaply manufactured, and a stock ofthem, with recesses 31 of various lengths, may be readily kept on hand,one lever being easily substituted for another by simply removing thepivotal pin.

In Fig. 7 of the drawings I have illustrated my invention applied to oneof that class of planters which are provided with a tractionwheeldisposed in front of the seed-hopper and in which the covering-rollershown in Fig. 1 is absent. To adapt the invention to this type ofplanter, itis simply necessary to transpose the braoket 15, carryingthelever ;17, from the rear to the front side of the hopper and also toreverse the spout 8, so that the oblique lower end of said spout shallbe adapted to be closed by the closure19 of said lever. Instead,however, of providing the said lever with a friction-roller, as 23, orwith a rounded end, as 30, the friction-roller is omitted, and the endof the lever is simply bifurcated, as at 22 the branches of the forkthus formed being disposed on opposite sides of the traction-wheel,which is desig nated 35. Said traction Wheel is provided withlaterally-extending tappets 36,0f which a plurality may be employed, soas to actuate the drop-lever at the desired intervals. The

. under side of the members or prongs 37, constituting the bifurcatedend of the lever, may be concaved on their under sides, as shown at 38,so as to be more readily and effectively engaged by thelaterally-extending tappets.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawingshereto annexed, the operation and advantages of my invention will bereadily understood. The constructionofmy improved attachment is soextremely simple in its nature that it may be manufactured at a triflingcost. The principal members 15 and 17 may be made of wood, and saidmembers are simply pivoted together by means of an ordinary pin or bolt,as will be readily seen. The sides of the lever member are provided withrecesses 25 to admit of their insertion into the bifurcated lower end ofthe bracket 15. Said members 15 and 17 may be easily provided withmortises or seats for the spring. The roller 23 ma; be readily mountedat the rear end of the lever 17, and the tappets 18 may consist simplyof wooden pegs driven into the understood, however, that I do not limitmyself to the precise structural details herein set forth, but reservethe right to any changes, alterations, and modifications within thescope of my invention and whereby the device may be readily adapted toplanters of difiereut patterns and which may be resorted to withoutdeparting from the spirit or sacrificing the utility of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. An attachment forplanters and fertilizer-distributers, comprising a bracket and a leverpivotally connected and having inclined mortises in their inner adjacentsides, in combination with a fiat U shaped spring having its endsdisposed in said inclined mortises.

2. The combination with a planter having a hopper provided with'a spout,inclined at its lower end, of an attachment comprising a bracketconnected detachably with the hopper, a lever connected pivotally withsaid bracket and forming a closure for the lower end of thehopper-spout, said lever being extended at its opposite end in the pathof a rotary element of the planter, and tappets extending from suchrotary element.

3. The combination with a planter having a hopper provided with a spout,inclined at its lower end, of an attachment comprising a bracketconnected adjustably with the hopper, a lever connected pivotally withsaid bracket and forming a closure for the lower end of the hopperspout, said lever and bracket being provided with inclined recesses intheir adjacent sides, a U-shaped spring havingits ends seated in saidrecesses,a roller mounted at the upper end of the lever which isextended in the path of a rotary element of the pla'nter, and tappetsextending from said rotary element to operate the lever.

4. In a planter having a hopper provided with a discharge-spout, avibratory closure for said spout and ashield connected with thefurrow-opener to deflect the discharge from the spout into the furrow.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN A. MOOUTCHEN.

Witnesses:

' R. J. BLAND,

L. I. PARROTT.

